FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The 31st edition of the Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference is April 10-12 at the Grand Wayne Center in downtown Fort Wayne.

“I hope attendees leave with a positive feeling about the conference,” said Dr. Maurice Eastridge, a professor of animal sciences at The Ohio State University and one of the organizers. “I hope they leave with something that will help them. One of our goals is to come up with a diverse list of topics. When we pick topics and speakers, it’s hard to hit everybody’s interests. I hope they can take something away that’s really beneficial to them. I hope they can say they can use what they learned with their clients or producers.”

The conference attracted 377 people last year, which was both an in-person and virtual event. This year’s conference is in-person only. Eastridge said he hopes to see 375-400 registrations this year. About 50 exhibitors plan to be there, he added.

The intended audience includes feed industry personnel, nutrition consultants, veterinarians and dairy producers.

The cost to attend the conference is $200 until April 1, and $230 after. The fee includes refreshments during breaks, a breakfast and an online copy of the conference proceedings. Graduate and undergraduate students may attend for free.

The conference kicks off on the 10th with a mini-symposium on transition cow nutrition sponsored by Balchem. Later that afternoon, undergraduate and graduate student presentations are scheduled.

On the 11th, the conference’s first speaker – Dr. Stephanie Langel, of the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine – will discuss calf health and pig immunity. Langel received her undergraduate degree in animal sciences from Ohio State, as well as her doctorate from the university’s Wooster campus.

“A lot of the focus (during the rest of the day) is on calcium-phosphorus balance in early parturition,” Eastridge noted. “The speakers will talk about ways to get them off to a good start. There will be topics on feed intake and feed efficiency.”

On the 12th, speakers will discuss the feeding and management of surplus dairy cows, and nutritional strategies to overcome transit stress.

A presenter from the University of Kentucky will talk about using drones to assess forage yield and quality. “This is new technology to use drones in that way,” Eastridge stated. “You can get a much better view of your crops by scanning the entire field.”

Also that morning, Phibro Animal Health will sponsor a breakfast with a speaker who will discuss Vitamin D and transition cow health and performance.

Fourteen continuing education units will be available to members of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS) at the conference: two for the Balchem mini-symposium, three for a Perdue Agribusiness pre-conference on the 11th, and nine for the conference itself. The ARPAS exam will be given April 11.

The conference is sponsored by Michigan State University, Ohio State and Purdue University. For more information, including the agenda and registration form, visit www.tristatedairy.org.